Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Guys, he ordered a FIREglo, NOT a MB. While his situation is terrible, finding a 370/12FG should be easier than a 370/12MB. At least on paper. Maybe not, but I would assume that most stores would have Fireglos and not MBs. Maybe you should tell your store that they can get a replacement for you from Ed Roman. That way, your store owner will think twice about making mistakes!

i'm inclined to think that much more 370s are made as MGs than FGs. what with the McGuinn vibe and all. I could be wrong

I'd sue the woman who bought it for inducing breach of contract.

I'm kidding.

Sort of.

The store definitely breached its contract with you, and you have legal recourse in small claims court if you don't get satisfaction. It all depends how angry you are. Personally, I'd be pretty angry.

If you can get the guitar back from that woman, great, but since she has had it now with her grubby paws all over it, I'd demand a healthy percentage of money back, too.

They cannot sell a guitar twice. That's what they did. They sold it to you first, since you paid for it in full. Then they sold your property. Get your money back with interest and go elsewhere.

Lots of interest!

What they have done may well be illegal, in addition to being a breach of their merchant agreement. I know that if you order something with a credit card and the store can't deliver within a period of time, they are obligated to offer a refund. Also, since this was your guitar, they had no right to sell it. I would demand they get it back or get the police involved. Tough luck if the woman is ****** off.

I would not in any way shape or form accept a butchered 360.

I wonder what the warranty situation would be even if you did get the guitar back. If she registered it, Rickenbacker may not honor a warranty claim, assuming you had to make one, which is probably unlikely. Still, that would be a further basis for a refund if you did get the guitar back.

If you do pursue a lawsuit, make sure you calculate exactly what interest you paid to your credit card company for the guitar and see what other expenses you can legitimately dream up. You can't get pain and suffering on a breach of contract claim, no matter how ****** off you are.

Well, I think a lawsuit is putting the cart before the horse. It's a bit early for that.

I'd tell them that they have 10 days to get me a brand new, unsold, 370/12FG with full warranty, or refund my money, in full, any interest included. They did indeed breach contract with you according the the statutes in the UCC.

The court would find that they would need to make full restitiution to you and would either order a refund or a comparable instrument. The purpose of the court would be to "make you whole" in terms of the deal, and I am pretty sure you can do that without resorting to lawyers and expenses thereof.


If they are unwilling or unable to deliver a 370/12 in a reasonable amount of time, then you can go out and buy yourself a new 370/12 anywhere, and they are liable for any price difference between your 370/12 purchase and the contract price.

I, for one, would NEVER consider a modified 360/12. You paid for a 370/12, you should have a 370/12, and they would certainly be voiding the warranty by adding a pickup to a 360/12. Also, what if the mess it up?

The best leverage would seem to be the "outing" of the dealer on this forum--full of people who actually buy Rics, obviously--if he fails to come through with a replacement instrument.

Is this some sort of forum faux pas I am not aware of? He should have a chance to make things right first, of course. It sounds like it was an honest, if dumb, mistake.

Are we sure the woman who bought it didn't order her's before Jesse ordered his?

Is it possible that the store has had two 370/12s on order for some time?

Was the fact that she was watching the shipped guitars list an indication that she may have had one on order(Does anybody even know about the list, who doesn't have one on order?)?

Could the store falsely claim she ordered her's first, simply to avoid legal responsibility?

Is the store free to decide which customer gets which guitar when it arrives?

Are there any time constraints on the legal contract Jesse has with his store to provide him with a 370/12?

Does Jesse own the 370/12 he's paid for, even before he's taken possession of it?

Should the store's reputation be ruined by one isolated mistake, easily explained as a miscommunication during the manager's absence?

It is a bummer of the highest degree Jesse. I would have been upset to say the least.

As far as adding a pick up goes, I add a third pickup to all my 6 strings, as the 4 or 7 designation is nearly impossible to get. I use a luthier of international repute to do the routing & it is top notch work. I have sold a couple of these gtrs, openly declaring that it has a third pickup added, even advertising it as a '330 (or 360) with added pick up' & have noticed no price drop in the resale value.

I would imagine though that this action could void the warranty in your case though, so is probably not the route to go down without further investigation.

First, thanks for the support guys. Maybe I'll print out this thread and bring it with me.

It's pretty clear that this woman did not have a standing order. Phil even admitted that it's not something he would order or keep in stock just for kicks. I don't know if she was specifically looking for a 370/12 FG or just wanted one of those "pretty Beatle guitars". It sounded like she had visited Rick's website and seen the dealer locator and/or directly called them asking who might have one.

I'd like to see the store fake up an invoice and credit card receipt for her after they told me they sold my guitar. Since I paid in full up front, I don't think there's any way to argue that it hasn't belonged to me since the tree was felled.

I don't want to disparage the store too much, since it's a lone holdout in the Wal-Martification of America, but that also means they're relying on random paper files and mental inventory instead of RFID tags.

It would be nice if they just went and took my guitar back from the woman after they realized, but yeah, I don't want her grubby paw prints all over my axe.

As far as color goes, it took me a while to decide on Fireglo, but in the past year I've been psyching up for it. I even bought a matching strap. I had decided that Mapleglo was too McGuinn-fanboy, I already have a blue Strat (superficial, I know), Montezuma Brown might be a little too... Montezumy and Jetglo & Blue Boy are right out. I wish Ed Roman's Greenglo was a real color... Oh, and I'd love to order a Amber Fireglo, but I don't think I can wait another year.

Having just done a little website recon of my own, I see some 370/12 VP FGs went up to Wisconsin; maybe I can get them to send one down.

I used to live in the Chgo area, where the Music Gallery, in Highland Park, which I believe is a RIC dealer, was always a good store to deal with. I had numerous friends that shopped there as well. I also think I know the store that sold this pre-sold guitar. They may be independent, and this an honest mistake, but years ago I would not shop there if I could avoid it. And if they have not already offered to make significant amends to you, they are as I believed them to be years ago, self-serving above all else.

That store may be a "holdout" from the superstores, but if they condone that sort of behavior they should not get any business. I would feel wrongly about not letting others know where to avoid being treated that way.

Just a thought...